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20-22 February 2004
ITE Transport Conference in Altdorf (Switzerland)
10th Anniversary of the Article for the Protection of the Alps in the Swiss
Constitution
International Conference and Celebration
10 years ago the Swiss people said "Yes” to the protection of the Alps. This is
reason enough for the Alpine Initiative to take stock of its position. From
20-22nd February, Altdorf will be hosting an event where we will reminisce,
risk looking to the future and also celebrate just a little.
On 20 February 1994 the head of the Swiss canton Uri, Hansruedi Stadler, danced
on the Lehnplatz square in Altdorf accompanied by an almighty racket
reminiscent of carnival time, and people were in high spirits. The Alpine
Initiative, the first popular initiative originating in a mountain region, had
been adopted. Against the will of the Swiss cabinet and parliament, 954,433
women and men (52%) and 19 cantons had said yes to the constitutional
protection of the Alps and the transfer of transit traffic from road to rail.
Exactly 10 years after this vote, we want to celebrate the anniversary with an
appropriate event. An international conference and a celebration will take
place from 20-22 February 2004 in Altdorf.
ITE conference in Altdorf
As part of these anniversary celebrations, the 11th International Conference of
the European Transport Initiative (ITE) will take place at the Altdorf
Tellspielhaus.
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Where do we stand 10 years after the adoption of the Article on the Protection
of the Alps?
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How much heavy goods traffic has been transferred to the railways?
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How are things going in Europe?
These are the kind of
questions the Alpine Initiative wants to discuss at its International
Conference on 20-21 February. We are expecting to welcome participants from all
over Europe. We will be offering a varied programme with speeches, a panel
discussion, various cultural activities, a day nursery, static hot-air balloon
trips and sight-seeing tours.
On Saturday evening, February 21st, the Alpine Initiative of canton Uri will
organise a big celebration. All friends, activists, sympathisers and patrons
are cordially invited to the conference and the celebration. You will shortly
be able to download the detailed programme with registration cards, hotel
reservations, etc. from
www.alpine-initiative.ch
. Moreover, a edition of our
Echo magazine will be published towards the end of January. It will contain
full details of the conference, the supporting programme, and the celebration.
You can also obtain this information in German, Italian and French from the
Secretariat of the Alpine Initiative, Postfach 28, CH-6460 Altdorf, Switzerland
(0041-41-870 97 81). Make a note of the date in your diary now! We look forward
to sharing old memories with you and taking a common look into the future
together.
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